Tag Archives: National Monument

Arizona Trail Days 14 to 23

March 30, 2026 Raven About The Parks 2 Comments

With temperatures 28 degrees above average in the Sonoran Desert, I jumped ahead 200 miles on the Arizona Trail to my home in Pine at Mile 459. After two “zero days” I was able to quickly cover the higher elevation miles and made it back to where I started on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon at Mile 700. The final six days I backpacked 187 miles, which I did not think I was capable of before I started on the AZT. This was all at elevations above 6,000 feet with the last 100 miles including water carries of 22, 17, 18, and 21 miles between refills. It was great to see friends and family in Pine and Flagstaff. I have surpassed 500 miles on the 800-mile AZT and will now return to the section I skipped north of the Gila River. Good news is the National Park Service is planning to reopen the North Kaibab Trail on May 15, so if I wait I may be able to do the final 100 miles through the Grand Canyon and up to the Utah border.

Arizona Trail Day 16, Mile 459 to 483 after jumping ahead 200 miles to my home in Pine I picked up the Highline Trail to the top of the Mogollon Rim. Enjoyed the cooler temperatures and the first Arizona cypress trees along the route, plus I saw a Madrean alligator lizard.

Arizona Trail Day 17, Mile 483 to 498 atop the Mogollon Rim across Clear Creek. Finished before noon for a trailhead pickup by my parents and one more night at home in Pine. Enjoying the cooler temperatures as I head towards Flagstaff through Coconino National Forest.

Arizona Trail Day 18, Mile 498 to 529 through forests towards Mormon Lake. Saw 3 herds of elk and the first Abert’s squirrel with its tassel ears. Water was mostly filtered from cattle tanks in various tints of yellow, but it tasted okay.

Arizona Trail Day 19, Mile 529 to 561 across Anderson Mesa where I saw two groups of mule deer. I got a resupply from my parents and my first views of the San Francisco Peaks north of Flagstaff. I feel nostalgic walking towards the town where I earned my undergrad degree from Northern Arizona University.

Arizona Trail Day 20, Mile 561 to 568 plus 16 miles on the urban route shortcut then Mile 599 to 608 through my college home of Flagstaff. Thanks to my friend Robin for helping lighten my backpack load earlier, picking me up near Snowbowl, and hosting me after a long 32-mile day.

Arizona Trail Day 21, Mile 608 to 638 dropped down from Aspen Corner on Snowbowl Road onto Hart Prairie. Saw mule deer, pronghorns, and corkbark fir, one of my favorite tree species. Passed scenic Red Mountain on my way to a dry camp in the pinyon juniper woodland.

Arizona Trail Day 22, Mile 638 to 668 through Babbitt Ranch and into Kaibab National Forest and the new Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument. Not many water sources out here so you take what you can get.

Arizona Trail Day 23, Mile 668 to 700 past Grandview Tower to Tusayan for fast food and then into Grand Canyon National Park where I started on March 4th. At some point today I surpassed 500 miles on the 800-mile AZT. I also had my first hotel stay of the journey. I’m taking a zero day before heading back to the Gila River at Mile 265.

You can keep track of where I am at on the Garmin website through this link: https://live.garmin.com/ScottSink

I will also be updating my Instagram account with photos when I have signal: https://www.instagram.com/ravenabouttheparks/

Know someone who loves exploring new National Monuments? Gift them our book Monumental America: Your Guide to All 138 National Monuments that is available for sale on Amazon.com.

Update

Starting the Arizona Trail This Week!

March 2, 2026 Raven About The Parks 8 Comments

This week I am starting out northbound on the Arizona National Scenic Trail. According to the official website, it is 800 miles (with 105,000 feet of cumulative elevation gain) from the international border with Mexico in Coronado National Memorial to the Stateline Campground on the Utah border in Vermilion Cliffs National Monument. Due to last summer’s Dragon Bravo Fire in Grand Canyon National Park, more than 20 miles of the trail is closed on the North Rim making a thru-hike impossible this year. Since I am already in northern Arizona, I am going to begin by backpacking to the bottom of the Grand Canyon to spend one night before turning around and driving south to the official start. That will be on Wednesday! Once I return to Grand Canyon National Park (Mile 700), I will get a ride north to finish up the trail.

You can keep track of where I am at on the Garmin website through this link: https://live.garmin.com/ScottSink

I will also be updating my Instagram account with photos when I have signal: https://www.instagram.com/ravenabouttheparks/

I recently moved back to Arizona for the 5th time in my life and I thought backpacking across the state would be a great way to reconnect. If you haven’t already read it, check out my 7-day Arizona Road Trip Itinerary with plenty of options to make it a month-long visit.

Once I finish the Arizona Trail, then I will get back to writing my latest guidebook American History 101: Reliving a Country’s Past at 101 National Park Service Sites, which I hope to publish by July 4, 2026, for the 250th anniversary of the vote to approve the Declaration of Independence.

Here are links to my blog posts on the public lands I will be traversing on the Arizona Trail:

Grand Canyon National Park

Coronado National Memorial

Coronado National Forest

Saguaro National Park

Tonto National Forest

Coconino National Forest

Walnut Canyon National Monument

Kaibab National Forest

Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni–Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument

Vermilion Cliffs National Monument

Know someone who loves exploring new National Monuments? Gift them our book Monumental America: Your Guide to All 138 National Monuments that is available for sale on Amazon.com.

California

Mendocino National Forest

February 11, 2026 Raven About The Parks 4 Comments

Mendocino National Forest

California

Managed by U.S. Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Region

1,079,850 acres (911,733 federal/ 168,117 other)

Website: https://www.fs.usda.gov/r05/mendocino

Overview

Originally called California National Forest in 1908, this area between Interstate 5 and Highway 101 was renamed Mendocino National Forest 24 years later. It stretches north-south along the Coast Range covering parts of six counties north of San Francisco. Similar to Los Padres National Forest, it contains rocky serpentine ridgelines where only specially adapted plants can tolerate the heavy metals in the soil, like Sargent cypress and the shorter McNab cypress. Both species can be found along Frenzel Creek near Little Stoney Campground. In 1953, a Forest Service employee and 14 volunteer firefighters died in the Rattlesnake Fire and a memorial overlooking Rattlesnake Canyon is located off Forest Highway 7 on Alder Springs Road. Mendocino National Forest includes the northern portion of Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument (see our full blog post), established in 2015 and administered in cooperation with the Bureau of Land Management.

Know someone who loves the National Forests? Gift them our travel guidebook Out in the Woods so they can learn more about all 155 National Forests.

Highlights

Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument, Lake Pillsbury, Thomes Gorge, Hull Mountain, Frenzel Creek, Harvey Peak, Ide’s Cove Trail

Must-Do Activity

There are 18 National Forests in California (the most of any state), but Mendocino is the only one not crossed by a paved highway. It is a wonderful destination for outdoor recreation, both motorized and non-motorized, including Hull Mountain which is popular with hang gliders. Lake Pillsbury is 2,280 acres and offers boat ramps, campgrounds, and a resort, while 35-acre Letts Lake has a campground and access to hiking trails.

Best Trail

As we drove the winding road from Stonyford to the tiny roadside pullout for Deafy Glade Trail, we passed campgrounds full of RVs that were getting ready for a motorcycle event. Our hike took us far from any road noise, as we dropped down to and waded across the frigid South Fork of Stony Creek and then climbed steeply to 5,300 feet in elevation. The trail continued to the summit of 7,056-foot Snow Mountain, but we already had great views of the Rice Valley and decided to turn around at the 4.5-mile point, just inside the official boundary of the Snow Mountain Wilderness. We expected a desolate landscape after reading about recent fires, but about three-quarters of the trees along the trail were still alive and showed only minor charring at their bases.

Watchable Wildlife

Mendocino National Forest protects a biodiverse area home to tule elk, black-tailed deer, river otters, black bears, and mountain lions. Rivers that drain these highlands are used by California coastal chinook salmon and Northern California steelhead. Fishing in the lakes is a popular activity and a chance to see ospreys and bald eagles.

Photographic Opportunity

On Deafy Glade Trail, there were congregations of lady bugs that numbered in the hundreds along the South Fork of Stony Creek.

Peak Season

Summer

Fees

None

Road Conditions

Fouts Springs Road (Forest Road M10) is a well-maintained gravel road that crosses the National Forest west of Stonyford. That area is popular with motorcycles and OHVs, so keep an eye out for them while driving.

Camping

Mendocino National Forest manages Bear Creek Campground and Lower Nye Dispersed Campground among many others, plus there are countless places for dispersed camping.

Wilderness Areas

Sanhedrin Wilderness

Snow Mountain Wilderness

Yolla Bolly-Middle Eel Wilderness (also in Six Rivers and Trinity National Forests)

Yuki Wilderness (also run by the Bureau of Land Management)

Lassen National Forest (California)

Point Reyes National Seashore (California)

Nearest National Park

Redwood

Conifer Tree Species

Douglas-fir, red fir, white fir, ponderosa pine, sugar pine, gray pine, Sargent cypress, McNab cypress

Flowering Tree Species

western redbud, interior live oak, tanoak, Pacific madrone

Explore More – In 1542, Cape Mendocino was named by explorer Roderiques de Cabrillo to honor whom?

Learn more about this and the 154 other National Forests in our travel guidebook Out in the Woods

California

Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument

February 4, 2026 Raven About The Parks 2 Comments

Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument

California

Managed by U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management

Established 2015

344,476 acres

Website: https://www.blm.gov/programs/national-conservation-lands/california/berryessa-snow-mountain-national-monument

Overview

North of the San Francisco Bay and west of Interstate 5, flat-topped 7,056-foot Snow Mountain sheds water into the Berryessa Valley and the Sacramento River. High elevations are dominated by conifers, while below there are oak-studded hillsides, canyons full of riparian trees, and rocky serpentine ridgelines where only specially adapted plants can tolerate the heavy metals in the soil. In 2024, the 13,696-acre Molok Luyuk (“Condor Ridge” in the Patwin language) was added to the National Monument since it contains evidence of human occupation dating back more than 10,000 years.

Know someone who loves exploring new National Monuments? Gift them our book Monumental America: Your Guide to All 138 National Monuments that is available for sale on Amazon.com.

Highlights

Cache Creek Wilderness, Knoxville Recreation Area, Nye Cabin, Prather Mill, Deafy Glade Trail, Redbud Trail

Must-Do Activity

In the portion of the National Monument run by the Bureau of Land Management, Cache Creek Wilderness is one of the main attractions for whitewater rafting and backpacking. Redbud and Judge Davis Trailheads off paved Highway 20 provide the easiest access for hikers. Further south, Knoxville Recreation Area encompasses rugged terrain for exploration with off-highway vehicles (OHVs). The northern portion of Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument within Mendocino National Forest has a network of dirt roads that are also popular with OHV riders. In the far north, Hull Mountain is utilized by hang gliders.

Best Trail

In Mendocino National Forest, Deafy Glade Trail starts at a tiny roadside pullout along Fouts Springs Road where campgrounds were full of RVs getting ready for a motorcycle event. Our hike took us far from any road noise, past congregations of lady bugs that numbered in the hundreds as we waded across the frigid South Fork of Stony Creek and climbed steeply to the boundary of the 60,076-acre Snow Mountain Wilderness. The trail continues to climb 4,300 feet total to the summit over the course of eight miles. It is half that length with only 2,000 feet of elevation gain from the west via Summit Trail, although the last 1.5 miles of the access road may be impassable to vehicles.

Photographic Opportunity

From our turnaround spot on Deafy Glade Trail we got great views of the Rice Valley.

Peak Season

Spring

Fees

None

Road Conditions

Fouts Springs Road (Forest Road M10) is a well-maintained gravel road that crosses the National Forest west of Stonyford. That area is popular with OHVs, so keep an eye out for them. Further south, Highway 20 is a paved route to trailheads in Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument, but four-wheel-drive may be required to access Buck Island Campground. The new Molok Luyuk section northeast of Clear Lake is reached by the gravel Walker Ridge Road that requires a high-clearance vehicle.

Camping

Mendocino National Forest manages Bear Creek Campground and Lower Nye Dispersed Campground, plus numerous others outside the National Monument boundaries. There are several campgrounds on Lake Berryessa, in addition to the ones at Clear Lake State Park and Cache Creek Canyon Regional Park.

Eldorado National Forest (California)

Muir Woods National Monument (California)

Nearest National Park

Lassen Volcanic

Explore More – How did the Berryessa Valley get its name?

Learn more about the other 137 National Monuments in our book Monumental America: Your Guide to All 138 National Monuments

List

Top 10 Gifts Highlighting National Monuments

November 25, 2025 Raven About The Parks Leave a comment

It is gift buying season again, so here are the best ideas for the person on your list who loves National Monuments. This year we published Monumental America, our travel guidebook to the 138 National Monuments, so we have had those often-overlooked public lands on our minds. We previously published our Top 10 Gifts for National Park Lovers. Click here to see all of our Top 10 Lists, including some book lists that may help you find a special gift for your favorite reader. As always, products we have created are available under the Shop tab above. We also have a Pinterest board for National Monuments, as well as one for National Park gifts and those harder-to-find National Forest gifts.

10. Postcards

For someone who loves one of the 138 National Monuments, pick up a postcard from Anderson Design Group

9. Quarters

The U.S. Mint finished releasing its America the Beautiful series in 2021; there are books and maps highlighting all 56 quarters (and you can buy the entire set for little more than the coins’ value)

8. Phone Case

Devils Tower became the first National Monument in 1906, so why not commemorate it on the one thing you take with you everywhere?

7. Coasters

We often purchase a Lantern Press coaster from the National Park Service bookstore during our visits, but there are also sets for sale online

6. Stickers

For someone on the quest to visit all 138 National Monuments, pick up a sticker set showcasing all of them

5. Mugs

Why not recall a favorite National Monument every time you enjoy a hot beverage? Check out the options at Western National Parks Association

4. Blanket

Keep warm under a National Parks and Monuments blanket map from Nomadix

3. Posters

Artwork or photographs of our beautiful National Monuments make a great gift and there are an overwhelming number of options (try starting at Creative Action Network)

2. Clothing

T-shirts, hoodies, socks, and anything else people wear have all been emblazoned with National Monument logos and images; did you know the Statue of Liberty is a National Monument?

…and finally our #1 gift featuring National Monuments:

1. Monumental America Guidebook

Especially if your National Monuments journey is just getting started, our one-of-a-kind guidebook can help with planning the travel logistics

Honorable Mentions

Puzzles

Jigsaw puzzles had a renaissance during the pandemic and there are many National Monument options in photographs or artwork

Photo album or photo board

We passport stamp all of the “unigrid” pamphlets (like the ones Echo the Raven poses with for each NPS blog post) from the parks and collect them in a photo album (actually three since we have visited 414 of 433 units so far)

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Mendocino National Forest

Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument

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